THE BATTLE FOR THE EARTH – GOING ALL OUT
Naruto and Clyde's Starting Point
Clyde looks into the distance with astonishment. He senses exactly what just happened in the battle of the Colonels. Sarada and Boruto had worked together to defeat Sheer and Sisto in a battle of teamwork. Such a thing is unthinkable to the General, he and his subordinates have fought together so many times against challenging opponents. For one of them to go down in a battle like this, it's truly surprising.
'Sisto is down, even though he was working with Sheer' Clyde gazes with wide eyes. 'How could it be that their teamwork has reached a high enough level to…'. The General gasps, cutting his own thoughts short as he senses a bundle of chakra coming towards him.
ZOOM!
Clyde doges at the last moment.
It was a rasen-shuriken.
The General notices that two orange coloured arms are returning to Naruto's body; shrinking as they do so. It had been using these arms, using Kurama's chakra, that Naruto had launched the rasen-shuriken.
"Hey, where do you think you are looking" Naruto taunts his opponent with a smile on his face. Though Naruto cannot sense the Colonel's power, he can sense the chakra of Boruto and Sarada, the fact that they are even alive is enough for him. Besides that, the strength of their chakra makes it seem like they have won.
The blonde shinobi continues by pointing at his head protector. "Your opponent is me". Naruto crosses his fingers, calling the name of his signature jutsu, he creates a duo of clones to aid him. Now there are three Naruto's, all of the run together towards Clyde, their intention obvious. This is a chance to go on the offensive.
Clyde covers both his palms in darkness. Not one to take things laying down, he slams his two darkness-clad palms together, his clap sourcing the dark energy that spreads from the collision like a sonic boom. This attack knocks all three of the Naruto's backwards but that is not all, the two clones instantly dissipate, such is the strength of the attack.
Naruto is far from done though. While he has never experienced becoming the Hokage, he has been bestowed that title as he has come to the future. The 7th Hokage, it's a truly important job and he has no intention of failing. He gets to his feet, once more creating two arms from Kurama's chakra, this time he uses them to take hold of Clyde and lift the General into the air. Pulling the General towards him with these arms, he simultaneously runs towards his opponent. Creating a rasengan he sets them on an irreversible collision course.
'Not good' Clyde gasps as he watches Naruto approach.
The Hokage swings the rasengan towards the General, only to be countered at the last moment. In a move of pure desperation, Clyde kicks the underside of Naruto's chin. As Naruto flies up into the air, both of the chakra arms he created disappear,
Flying through the air at such great speeds, any lesser man would panic. This is Uzumaki Naruto though. He controls himself, waiting for his upward motion to stop and his downward motion to begin. He focuses his gaze downward, his fall hastening as he tumbles towards his opponent.
Clyde waits for no man and he dares not wait for this one. This downward momentum Naruto has gained is the perfect opportunity for him. He holds his hand out, darkness power seeping from his pores and forming into the shape of a spear.
This is when Naruto decides this is the perfect moment to clash their powers together. He hadn't been focusing on it until just now, but he still has the rasengan from before in his hand. Anticipating Clyde's spear throw, he focuses his chakra on this hand, spinning the rasengan until it forms into a rasen-shuriken while he continues to plummet.
The General watches as Naruto's power continues to grow. It doesn't pay to wait any longer. He thrusts his arm forward, generating as much power as he can with his waist, he launches the spear towards Naruto.
Naruto would be injured if he were to clash directly with the spear. He has prepared for that though. He launches his rasen-shuriken, his previously manufactured momentum adding further to the speed at which it is thrown.
BANG!
An enormous explosion that sends a shockwave over the entire battlefield, that is the result of the collision.
Still, a shockwave of this size cannot affect Naruto and Clyde, the ones powerful enough to create it. Naruto continues falling past the point of impact, noticing a lapse in his opponent's concentration he focuses his chakra on his hand, creating a giant rasengan.
At the last second, a massive darkness shield appears to bock this rasengan. While this creates a separation of about 15 meters between the two fighters, this is nothing to Clyde. He manifests a huge hammer with a handle 15 meters in length. Swinging it as hard as he can, he slams it into Naruto, around the Hokage's massive rasengan and his own equally massive shield.
As Naruto is sent tumbling along the ground, his rasengan dissipates. This separation grants him a unique opportunity though.
ROAR!
It's the nine-tails transformation.
'This form has poor mobility so I can't fight you in it' Naruto explains in his head, 'But it will be OK for this single attack'.
The 7th Hokage holds both his palms out flat before him, his arms at full stretch. Kurama's mouth opens wide and in front of it appears a huge tailed beast bomb, dwarfing all those that Naruto has used previously. Indeed, this unique bit of separation between himself and his enemy is perfect for an attack like this.
"Tailed beast bomb!".
The attack is incredible. While it is mostly dependent on Kurama, Naruto has been straining their link as hard as he can, pushing not only himself but the nine-tails during their training. This tailed beast bomb is greater than any he has launched before.
Even then this only cracks Clyde's shield and hammer but that is plenty, it leaves the General wide open. It takes but a moment for Naruto to drop the tailed beast transformation and dash to Clyde's front.
Naruto has a mini tailed beast bomb.
Seeing this, Clyde prepares himself, creating a thin layer of darkness armour around himself. He plans not only to counter offense with defence but offense with offense as well.
Clyde conjures up a super dense ball of darkness in his hand.
BANG!
At the same moment, Naruto and Clyde both slam their ball-shaped attacks into one another.
At the same moment, both men fall to their backs.
Naruto resolves himself as he looks at Clyde, 'The others are watching so…'.
Clyde does the same, 'My subordinates can all see my situation, I can't afford to worry them so…'.
Both share the same concluding thought. 'I can't get to my feet a second after he does'.
1…2…3…4…
Naruto is up. Clyde is up. From those two incredible attacks, it takes them only four seconds to reach their feet.
They exchange a glance before Clyde finally does it.
The General activates his darkness elemental cloak.
'Now he's fighting seriously' Naruto tells himself as he adjusts for better balance.
Clyde approaches slowly but confidently. "Now it's time to finish you, Uzumaki Naruto".
Sarada and Sheer's Starting Point
Boruto finally looks away from the direction which Sheer fled, he looks instead towards the fallen Colonel. He looks towards Sisto, making sure that he is down for the count, hoping to relax for just a moment. Of course, the Tenseigan means that he doesn't even have to turn his head, it's simply a human habit, something that even the most experienced shinobi cannot shake.
Sisto is definitely down. After Boruto and Sarada have both confirmed this, they turn, exhausted, smiling towards one another. For a moment, neither can move, they just stand perfectly still, sharing a smile.
Suddenly, Boruto collapses onto his back, struggling for breath as he forces his arm out from under him. He rests his head on the ground as he looks to his side.
"Boruto" Sarada calls after him, "Are you alright". The 9th Hokage takes one step towards her shadow Hokage before she does the same as he did. She collapses just as he has.
A moment of near silence passes while the two of them give their all to controlling their breath. An expert shinobi should be able to recover their energy fairly quickly with no injuries to speak of.
Boruto is the first to do so, he looks to Sarada not two feet away from himself. "Are you alright?".
"Yeah" she answers, "I'm just a bit exhausted is all. Are you OK, Boruto?".
"I'm the same" he replies.
It is a great relief to both shinobi, to hear that they have pulled through this battle without any injuries. It had been Boruto's plan to leave Sarada, to instead head after Hashirama, to ensure victory in this match. He couldn't do it though, he found himself unable to do nothing as Sarada got hurt, so he changed his mind. For one moment, he deviated from the path of absolute power, something he hadn't done even for his grandfather.
Shortly, the 6th Hokage arrives at the scene. Kakashi had started to move this way after he had defeated Burns. At this moment, he does not use the Sharingan, he is making every effort he can to preserve chakra until the last moment. He is not blind though, he arrives to see two of his teammates on the floor together.
He lets a moment pass as he notices their close proximity. "… I hope I'm not interrupting something".
"You're not!" the hidden leaf pair shout as they go a deep shade of red.
Boruto is the first to realise that Kakashi said this very deliberately, as an attempt to relax them. 'Damn, to think that Lord 6th could find time to tease us, even in this situation'.
"Are the two of you OK?".
"Yeah" Sarada answers, hopping to her feet and then helping Boruto to his, "We're just exhausted".
The shadow Hokage staggers towards his father's teacher. Observing that he shouldn't be in front of them, that it defied all tactical logic in this match. "Lord 6th, how are you free?".
"I mastered Obito's ability" Kakashi answers tapping the side of his head, level with his eyes, "I can pass through objects now. I went through the prison before defeating Burns. It has exhausted me though".
The 9th Hokage takes one final deep breath, readying herself for what is ahead. "That means Mirai and Hashirama are the only two left who are restricted".
"Yeah".
"You two go and free Mirai" she says as if giving an order, "I'll meet up with Tobirama, the two of us will make a plan to free his brother".
Boruto instantly refutes this plan. "Mirai is unguarded" he reminds Sarada, nodding towards the downed Sisto who had been Mirai's opponent, "Two are us aren't need to free her, one of us should…".
Suddenly he falls to his knees, an agonising pain overcoming him, building up in his chest. This is the strange energy that only he and Naruto know about, the wispy grey substance that leaks from his body is trying to do so again. 'Not now' he shouts in his head as he holds it back forcefully, 'This can't be happening now of all times'.
Kakashi helps Boruto back to his feet, not realising that the issue for the shadow Hokage is more serious than simple exhaustion.
"I'm alright now but you two are completely unable to fight. Go, free Mirai" Sarada smiles at her childhood friend, grateful for his concern but at the same time weary of what is best for the team, "Lord 2nd and I will try to free Hashirama until Mirai arrives".
"I don't like it personally but it's not a bad strategy" Kakashi admits.
"But if you fail…" Boruto begins.
"Don't worry, even if our plan does fail, this is just the battle of the Colonels. None of this will matter as long as your dad wins, right?".
In response, Boruto maintains an awkward silence, looking down through the bottom corner of his eye. "… you could die".
"Of course, I could die" Sarada responds, acting like Boruto has said something stupid, "Why does it matter now of all times".
"I…".
Seeing her shadow Hokage struggle to explain himself, Sarada smiles and places her hands on his shoulders, at long last this inspires Boruto to look up from the ground, his eyes meeting hers as she makes a solemn promise.
"Boruto, I promise I won't die".
Kakashi decides to tease them once again. "Do you two want a moment alone?".
"NO" they both shout at him.
Boruto sighs, "You better keep that promise".
"I will" Sarada nods as she removes her hands from his shoulders, "Now go, Hokage's orders".
"Yes".
Boruto and Kakashi begin in Mirai's direction, their speed far slower than they have achieved in the past but still respectable. In the other direction, Sarada flies, having transformed into her comet form. While she is technically weightless, she carries a great weight with her at this moment, the weight of everyone's lives, the weight of her promise to Boruto.
Naruto and Clyde's Starting Point
Seeing the dark cloak around Clyde, Naruto is concerned but he does not panic. Unusually, it is instead the tailed-beast within him who is flustered by this development. "Naruto, if he is using his cloak, you have to power up too".
"No" Naruto shakes his head. "Not yet, I can still…".
Before Naruto can even finish what, he is saying to Kurama, Clyde has appeared beside him. Incredible speed, speed that Naruto can barely follow with his eyes, the sort of speed you would need a Sharingan or Byakugan to follow.
Clyde slams his foot into Naruto's back, launching the shinobi forward. Despite the speed with which Naruto is launched, he does not travel far. The General is already in his path, he catches the flying Naruto's face with is foot before slamming the back of his opponent's head down into the ground.
For those watching on TV it happened in an instant. For Naruto, it seemed even quicker. The attack was not only quick though, it was powerful, strong enough to hurt even someone like the 7th Hokage.
Naruto coughs as he flails his arms around him, looking for something to help pull himself to his feet. It is useless though, in this open grassland there is not so much as a pebble, never mind something substantial enough to bring him to his feet. He makes a horrible realisation, he cannot push himself up. This could be his end.
1…2…3…
The Hidden Leaf Hill
"Naruto…" Hinata clutches her fists nervously as she watches him struggle.
4…5…6…
"This can't be happening" Kushina remarks as she stands mouth agape. "Is he really going to lose here?".
7…8…9…
Naruto and Clyde's Starting Point
Naruto quickly assimilates as much chakra as he can in his hands before slamming them down into the ground, each creating small explosions. It is not pretty, it is in fact a huge waste of chakra, but he does manage to propel himself to his feet. He manages to survive to fight another day.
The General rolls his eyes in annoyance. The fight must go on.
"That was pretty close huh". Naruto makes this joke to Kurama but the delirium is clear in his voice.
"Stop messing around, this isn't someone you can afford to hold back against" the nine-tails snaps at his host, "You can't experiment here. You can't use this fight to learn clever little tricks. You have to do it now. You have to go all out".
As if hearing this recommendation, Clyde launches at Naruto for another attack.
Naruto resigns himself to this truth. "Yeah".
A blinding flash of light spreads from Naruto, forcing the General to a cautious pause in his attack. Naruto emerges from this light with chakra far stronger, with higher quality chakra than at any point before.
He emerges in six paths sage mode.
Naruto doesn't delay a moment. He fires all six of his truth-seeking balls at Clyde one after another. While, the General knocks all of these away in succession, he is noticeably struggling harder to do so each time. It is a display of power that should intimidate anyone, these two are clearly on another level entirely.
"Tsk" Naruto pulls all six balls back to his behind.
Clyde smiles having succeeded in his defence. "So, we're finally going to have our all-out battle, right?".
"That's right".
The Hidden Leaf Hill
Himawari shakes Hinata by the shoulder. "Mother, did you see that. Father was really able to make that General go all out there".
Hinata nods as Minato smiles excitedly. While it is what they were, all hoping for he still struggles to believe it, "He can win" the 4th Hokage states, "If Naruto can make that guy struggle even with his cloak, then Naruto can win".
Inojin smiles lightly. It seems like his father will finally have justice, "It's hard to believe isn't it Shikadai?".
"You can say that again" the Nara clansmen concurs.
However, at this moment, another Nara clansmen is struggling to get to grips with the situation. That is Nara Shikamaru, the one who understands the most about Naruto's training going into this match. 'It certainly is hard to believe'.
'During training, Naruto only used that power once by accident. Does he really not need it here? Can he really beat a General without it'? This is a power that Shikamaru has stressed about consistently, something that only he saw Naruto do during training, a power Naruto didn't use on purpose and couldn't recreate afterwards. A power they do not understand.
'No, something is wrong here' Shikamaru determines with some certainty.
'Captains have control over an element'.
'Colonels have control of that power-enhancing cloak as well'.
'If each rank comes with such an enormous increase in power' a bead of sweat drips down his forehead as he considers the implications, 'Could it just be the General is so much stronger in his base form that…'.
Shikamaru looks towards the screen, fully taking in Clyde's appearance before shaking his head.
'That's too optimistic. Colonels are far stronger than captains when they are just using their element. Despite being stronger in their base form, they have a higher tier power as well'.
'If that's the case for all of their ranks then the General is still holding back…'.
'He's just toying with Naruto'.